“I was willing to sacrifice more. I was willing to work harder.” Olympic icon Lindsey Vonn’s lessons for succeeding on and off the slopes

The Path is a video series where I chat with some of the most influential leaders in the world exploring the successes, missteps, and key pivotal moments that shaped their professional paths. It’s through these authentic stories that we can learn how to navigate our own career journeys.

My guest this week is ski racing legend Lindsey Vonn.

For this series, I’ve had the opportunity to talk to so many fascinating people about how they ended up as leaders in their respective industries — I don’t think any of them set out on their paths quite as young — or as fast — as Lindsey Vonn. 

Lindsey started competitively skiing at seven years old. She set her sights on becoming an Olympian at age nine after meeting her idol, gold medalist Picabo Street. By 17, she’d made it to her first Olympics in Salt Lake City. Over her 20-year career Lindsey’s clinched 82 World Cup wins, 137 podium finishes and three Olympic medals (including a gold at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games), making her one of the most decorated athletes in the sport. 

Lindsey’s story is defined by more than just speed though; it’s a testament to resilience and drive. With all her record-breaking victories, she’s faced doubters and suffered brutal injuries — only to make multiple comebacks.

Since hanging up her skis in 2019, Lindsey has transitioned into a multi-faceted post retirement career as a creator, investor, and philanthropist.

Here are my takeaways:

Talent versus hard work

Lindsey does not deny possessing natural talent but said she came up against even more talented people throughout her career. The difference was, she told me, “I wanted it more. I was willing to sacrifice more. I was willing to work harder, and that's what ultimately led to my success.”

Rejection as motivation

Early on in her career, Lindsey overheard her coaches say she didn’t have what it takes to make it to the Olympics. While it made her cry, she remembered, “At the same time, I kind of gritted my teeth and I said, ‘that's not true. I'm going to change their opinion.’” And she did. A year later Lindsey made her Olympic debut, turning that negative feedback into a useful tool. “I think that drove me for a long time, not just in that season, but it was something that I kind of put in the memory bank and I pocketed. And I used that whenever I felt like I was missing that motivation.”

The art of the comeback

Along with that drive to prove her doubters wrong, Lindsey also showed incredible resilience in the wake of gruesome injuries that could have easily ended her career much earlier. She said her mindset was: “No matter how injured I got, I could always have surgery, work hard at rehab and come back. It was a matter of hard work. No matter what obstacle is thrown at me, I'm going to face it head on with a smile because I'm lucky to even have that obstacle thrown at me.” 

Taking care of business

When Lindsey’s injuries finally caught up to her, she reinvented herself as a successful business leader, entrepreneur, and investor. In addition to Lindsey’s work as a brand ambassador for Idorsia Pharmaceuticals, Oakley, Land Rover, Red Bull, Rolex, Three Forks Ranch, and Under Armor, she’s created a sportswear collection with Head, founded a production company, invested in several professional women's sports teams, and backed innovative business ventures like alternative meat options, and AI based fitness apps. As Lindsey explained to me, “My dad told me when I was very young that no one ever made any money off of ski racing, so I had to be more than an athlete.”

Speaking with Lindsey was inspiring to me personally on many fronts. The lessons of her relentless work ethic, sacrifice and unshakable determination apply to anyone looking to achieve great success, whatever their chosen career path.